Risk and resilience: Dual effects of perceptions of group disadvantage among Latinos

Several decades of research on the psychology of minority status has yielded highly discrepant findings. Substantial research suggests that perceptions of discrimination are linked to inferior self-regard and poor mental health, whereas other studies indicate that perceptions of discrimination are protective of global self-esteem. We tested a theoretical model of the combined (negative/positive) effects of perceived group disadvantage on self-esteem among Latinos. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that perceptions of group disadvantage were indirectly related to self-esteem through two principal pathways. The total (direct and indirect) effect on self-esteem was not significant, suggesting that, among Latinos, the deleterious consequences of perceived belonging to a devalued and disadvantaged group were fully counterbalanced by the positive effects of intervening variables. More complex models may be needed to characterize fully the self-protective and detrimental consequences of perceived group disadvantage among Latinos.